विक्रम चरित (उज्जैन सम्राट् विक्रमादित्य - पराक्रम, न्याय एवं ३२ पुतलियों की कथा सटीक)

Cooverjee Coyajee ADVENTURES OF VICKRAMADETEA, KING OF OUJEIN. CHAPTER I. King Vickramadetea—His military talents, intellectual accomplish- ments, and love of justice—The wisdom and integrity of his Prime Minister—Precautions taken to avert the effects of an adverse prediction made at Vickramadetea's birth—The hermit Soodew—The king obtains from him a practical knowledge of the science of trans- migration—A sentinel, by following the king, also becomes possessed of the secret. In the capital city of Oujein there once reigned a king named Vickramadetea, who was so liberal that none could be compared with him; he delighted in virtuous actions, and was exact in the administration of justice; he was a care- ful protector of his subjects; his riches were immense, his army very numerous and efficient, and in personal courage and valour he himself was unsurpassed. The people were virtuous and generally moral. The city was extensive and populous, and filled with well-designed and magnificent buildings. The people were happy and contented under the reign of this happy monarch, and they were pious and thank- ful to the Almighty for the blessings vouchsafed to them. They were at peace with their neighbours, and united in the bonds of love and amity. No thoughts of disloyalty or disaffection ever found place in their hearts. By the aid of a bountiful Providence the seasons were prolific, and the harvests plentiful; the trees were always green, and yielded innumerable fruits and flowers, which disseminated their B